Means for positioning and registering printing members on cylinders of rotary presses



June 9, 1953 E. LEEBERG MEANS FOR POSITIONING AND REGISTERING PRINTING v MEMBERS 0N CYLINDERS OF ROTARY PRESSES Filed Nov. 3. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS June 1 E. LEEBERG 2,641,181 MEANS FOR POSITIONING AND REGISTERING PRINTING MEMBERS ON CYLINDERS OF ROTARY PRE'SSES Filed Nov. 3, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ESL-E2123- INVENT OR E0 WARD LsEBE/ee,

BY I

' ATTORNEYS Patented June 9, 1953 8' FOR f POS iTioN IN G; AN!) IN G PRINTING MEMBERS ON CYLINDERS OF'ROTARY PRESSES Edward Leeberg, Roselle; N. J. A'ppliatioh'Noveinber 3, 1930, Serial No. 193,878

3: d'lsimss (Cl. lili -1 7 13 invention relates torotary printin presses and especially to multi color rotary 'printinema chines. More particularly the invention relates to gage attachments to be applied to rotary rise l'ng'c'ylihd'ers for registering and roperly posi= tioning thereon rinting members such as'fiexible pillzinting bands'or ads; stereotype plates and the 11 E;

While this invention has other uses, it is es pecially well adapted for use in connection with the mechanism disclosed in my other application for Means For Tightening and Adjusting Flex ible Bands on Printing cylinders of Rotary Presses, filed simultaneously herewith and bear= in; serial No. 1933377, now abandoned and re laced by SerialNo. 3-32,o42, filed-January 22; 1953.

In multi-color printing resses the web of a er asses from one printing cylinder to the nextto receive the different colored im ressi-onsirom the printing bands'or plates on the cylinders, audit is of extreme importan e that the different im=- pressi'ons be in registration. w

When such resses 'use flexible prihtihgfihahds or plates; it requires a great deal oftime and'skill to properly position them on the cylinders so as to obtain the proper alinem'ent and'registration. Expensive telescopic ali'rling devieshave been used in getting the printing bands on the-several cylinders in Ii'ne in the direction ofm'ovement of the paper, and other complicated means have been employed to get the proper'registration the several color im ressions or printin'g's.

The principal object of the invention is toip'rm vide a gage device of the above indicated'character which may be mounted on the several printihg cylinders successively and used to properly position the flexible printing bands lengthwise of the cylinders so that the bandson al llof the cylinders will be in line, to properly 'positioh'the' bands circumferentially of the cylinders so the different imprints will be in registration and'to so position the bands that the horizontal lines of printin indicia will be at right angles to the edges of the paper sheets Another object of the inventioilis to provide a device of this character which is of simple and practical construction, which will save muohti'm-e in correctly positioning the printing bands or plates on the several cylinders of the press-end which may be effectively used by relatively 1111-- skilled workers;

With the above and other obiectsand advan= ta'g'es in view, the inventionresides-inthe novel combinations and arrangements of parts and the 2'? novel features or construction hereinafter described and/claimed; andiliustrated in the aocom' anyingdrawings which show the present I preferred embodiment oftheinventioh.

' ior properly'positioning the'gase device thereon;

Fig; 5 is adctoii section taken on-line 5 5 of Fig: 2: and

r Fig. '6 is a detail section taken 'on'lin'e 15-6 of Fig. '1.

Referring more in detailto' the drawings, the numeral i0 denotes one of the" severalsimilar printing cylinders of a rotary printing press. Such cylin'ders'are i 'siialiy hollowand are made in various'lengths and diameters. The cylinder is suitably n xed to a shaft! l'iournaled in bearings l2 on'the ira me l3'of'the'pre'ss. Theovlinder has fiat end walls connected by a cylindrical side wall Min which is formed the usual ga or slot 15' to receive both ends or a flexible printing pad or "band it. While these printing bands or members It areof'various constructions and various means may be provided for adjilsti'fig'ahd tightening them on the cylinders, I have shown in the drawings the same-structures that are disclosed in-iny above mentioned application, and I will now briefly'd'es'cribe them;

The fiexibleprinting member l'thas a base. I! of canva'sor the like and a thick'body portion i8 olfrubber; rubber-likecomposition or plastic mate'rial on which are formed raised printing indi- 01a 19' the latter formin the printing surface, Within the cylinder op osite the slot '15 is a winding reel, the reduced ends '29 ofwhi'c'h are shown in Figs: 1 ands. V The'iabrio ends of the band It are fastened to the reel so that when the letter 'rotat'ed'in one direction both ends oi'the band will be pulled into the sl'ot'to tighten the hand on thercylinder; Thereel is mounted both for rotation'and'ior the angling of its axis with respect to the axis of the cylinder so that any skew in the band, when itis drawn aga'instth'e surface of the'cyli'nder, may beremoved. The reelhas near its extremities reduced journal ortions which rotate in bearing openin s eeeentrically positioned in circular discs 2%. The latterare detachable radial arms 32 having hexagonal openings 3| to receive the similarly shaped projections 29 on the reel. The outer ends of the arms 32 have arcuate slots 34 to receive screws 35 I which clamp them against the cylinder end walls. It will be seen that when the arms 32 are not tightly clamped and the screws 38 are loose, the

arms 36 may be moved to' cause the eccentric bearing disks 25 to be turned to change the angular relation of the reel axis to the cylinder axis, and hence the printing band may be squared on the cylinder and any skew in it removed so that all portions of the band around the cylinder may be drawn tight against its surface.

My improved gage device comprises a gage bar or rod 40 longer thanthe cylinder l along which it is to be temporarily supported by two supports or standards 4|. The rod is shown as being cylindrical and it is removably and adjustably mounted in openings in the supports 4| by means of set screws 42. The supports 4| have elongated bases 43 which extend circumferentially of thecylinder and which are curved to conform to the curvature of the cylinder as seen in Fig. 5. Since the device is to be applied to the difierent cylinders of the press in succession in alining and registering the different printing bands or plates, I provide means for positioning and securing it in exactly the same position on each cylinder. That is accomplished by forming on the curved bottoms of the bases 43 near one end integral locating pins or dowels 44 of a size to fit holes or openings 45 formed in the surface of each cylinder near its ends, as seen in Fig. 4. Theseholes 45 are positioned at exactly the same distance from a longitudinal edge of the slot IS in each cylinder or from some gage mark on the cylinder. The supports or standards when thus located, are fastened by machine screws or bolts 46 which pass through openings 41 in the enlarged bases and into threaded holes 48 formed in the cylinder surfaces in circumferentially spaced relation to the locating holes 45.

The gage rod supports two gage members 49 and 50. The gage element 49 is used to position the printing bands on all of the cylinders in alinement in the direction of movement of the paper. It is preferably in the form of a crescent shaped plate disposed vertically adjacentone end of the cylinder and adjustably carried by the rod 40. The lower edge of the gage plate 49 conforms to the curvature of the cylinder and preferably extends a little less than half-way around'the latter. The plate is riveted or otherwise secured as at 52 to a lug or arm 53 projecting from the cross portion of an inverted U-shaped slide 54 mounted on the gage rod. The two arms 55 and 56 of the U-shaped slide are apertured to slidably receive the rod 40, the arm 56 being on the outer side of the adjacent standard 4| from which one end of the rod projects a suitable distance. That permits the gage plate to be adjusted close to the adjacent end of the cylinder for very wide printing bands and at the sametime the gage plate is rigidly supported. While a suitable gage.

mark may be on each printing member to coact with the gage plate, I find it satisfactory to abut the adjacent edge of the raised printing surface |9 against the gage plate to properly position the band lengthwise of the cylinder. When that has been done the slide 54 is locked to the rod by a set screw 51 threaded into the arm 56. When the gage plate is thus set on the first printing cylinder the device may be applied to the other cylinders in succession and the bands on those cylinders when abutted against the gage plate will cause all of the printing bands to be in alinement. Onthe gage rod 40 is a graduated scale 58 in any suitable linear units to cooperate with the edge of the slide arm 55 so that a particular adjustmentof the gage plate may be noted.

The gage element or member 50 is used in squaring the printing band or plate on the cylinder and positioning the lines of printing indicia on the printing surface |9 at right angles to the edges of the paper. The gage 50 is in the nature of a straight edge consisting of a straight flat bar having a length substantially that of the cylinder and preferably having a beveled outer edge. It is hung from the rod 40 for vertical swinging movement so that it may contact with the surface 19. As shown in Fig. 2 the gage bar 50 has fixed to it near its ends two arms 59 which are apertured to receive the rod 40 and which are positioned to contact with the flat opposing faces of the supports or standards 4| so that the gage bar is prevented from shifting longitudinally but can swing vertically. To prevent the gage bar from interfering with the adjustment of the gage plate, the latter has a portion of its inner or lower edge cut away as at 60. Since the axis of the rod 40 is parallel with the axis of the cylinder and the arms 59 are of equal length, the beveled edge of the bar 50 will indicate the proper positioning of the horizontal rows of printing indicia on the surface I9. If such rows are not in line with the straight edge of the bar 50 one or the other of the eccentric bearing discs 25 may be adjusted to shift the printing band on v the cylinder so that the rows of indicia are at right angles to the edges of the paper web.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has beenmade for carrying out the objects of the invention, and whilepreferences have been disclosed, attention is invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A gage device for positioning a printing member on a rotary cylinder of a press comprising a pair of standards having means at their lower ends for removably mounting them on the curved surface of a printing cylinder adjacent the ends of the latter, a gage rod extending between and supported by said standards parallel to the axis of the cylinder, one end of said rod projecting outwardly beyond one of said standards, a

U-shaped slide having arms apertured to receiveand slide on said rod, said slide straddling said lower edge curved to conform to the curvature of a printing cylinder to coact with a printing member thereon, means for fastening said slide in an adjusted position on said rod, a gage bar for disposition longitudinally of a printing cylinder, and having a straight edge to coact with a print-.

ing band thereon, and a pair of suspending arms for said bar pivotally hung from said rod, the last mentioned arms contacting the opposed sides of said standards to prevent longitudinal movement of said bar, the lower portion of said gage plate being cut away to clear the rod and bar.

2. In a gage attachment to be successively applied to the different printing cylinders of a rotary press to aline and register flexible printing bands on the cylinders, the combination with a printing cylinder having a smooth cylindrical surface with a longitudinal slot extending from end to end to receive the ends of a flexible printing band encircling the cylinder, the said cylindrical surface having gage-locating holes near the ends of the cylinder and equally spaced from said slot, said cylindrical surface also having screw threaded holes spaced circumferentially from said gage-locating holes, of a gage device for removable attachment to the cylinder and compris ing a gage rod disposed longitudinally of the cylinder, standards for supporting said rod parallel with the axis of the cylinder, said standards having elongated bases extending circumferentially of the cylinder with bottom faces longitudinally curved to conform to and contact with said cylindrical surface, locating pins projecting from said bottom faces adjacent one of the ends of said bases and disposed in said gage-locating holes, the other ends of said bases having holes to register with said screw threaded holes, headed screws in said registering holes to fasten said standards to the cylinder, said rod being longer than the cylinder and having one end projecting outwardly beyond one of said standards, a U- shaped slide having arms apertured to receive and slide on said rod, said slide straddling said one of said standards to position one of said arms on the projecting end of said rod, a vertically disposed gage plate fixed to said slide and having its lower edge curved to conform to the curvature of the cylinder and to coact with a printing band thereon, means for fixing said slide in an adjusted position on said rod, a gage bar disposed longitudinally of the cylinder and having a straight edge to coact with a printing band thereon, and a pair of suspending arms for. said bar pivotally hung from said rod and disposed for contact with the opposite sides of said standards to prevent longitudinal movement of said bar, the lower portion of said gage plate being cut away to clear the rod and bar.

3. In a gage attachment to be successively applied to the different printing cylinders of a rotary press to aline and register flexible printing bands on the cylinders, the combination with a printing cylinder having a smooth cylindrical surface with a longitudinal slot extending from end to end to receive the ends of a flexible printing band encircling the cylinder, the said cylindrical surface having gage-locating holes near the ends of the cylinder and equally spaced from said slot, said cylindrical surface also having screw threaded holes spaced circumferentially from said gage-locating holes, of a gage device for removable attachment to the cylinder and comprising a gage rod disposed longitudinally of the cylinder, standards for supporting said rod parallel with the axis of the cylinder, said standards having elongated bases extending circumferentially of the cylinder with bottom'faces longitudinally curved to conform to and contact with said cylindrical surface, locating pins projecting from said bottom faces adjacent one of the ends of said bases and disposed in said gage-locating holes, the other ends of said bases having holes to register with said screw threaded holes, headed screws in said registering holes to fasten said standards to the cylinder, a slide movable lengthwise of said rod, means for fixing said slide in an adjusted position on said rod, a vertically disposed gage plate fixed to said slide and having its lower edge curved to conform to the curvature of the cylinder and to coact with a printing band thereon, a gage bar disposed longitudinally of the cylinder and having a straight edge to coact with a printing band thereon, and. a pair of suspending arms for said bar pivotally hung from said rod and disposed for contact with the opposite faces of said standards to prevent longitudinal movement of said bar, the lower portion of said gage plate being cut away to clear the rod and bar.

EDWARD LEEBERG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,095,542 Claybourn Oct. 12, 1937 2,104,553 Claybourn Jan. 4, 1938 2,231,187 Hawley Feb. 11, 19-41 2,334,821 Hawley Nov. 23, 1943 

